New Name, New Plan for Nation’s Oldest National LGBTQ Advocacy Organization

WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 8, 2014 — Today the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, America’s oldest national LGBT advocacy organization, is changing its name and upping its game to deliver full LGBTQ freedom, justice and equality.

The organization’s new name is the National LGBTQ Task Force, its tagline is “Be you,” and its vision is a society that values and respects the diversity of human expression and identity and achieves freedom and equity for all.

“We are seeing a real palpable hunger in LGBTQ people’s hearts not just to be out, but to bring their entire selves to every aspect of their lives: to ‘Be You’ without fear, without persecution, without discrimination,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force. “And there is a deep desire for more change, to look beyond marriage equality, with millions of us still facing formidable barriers in every aspect of our lives: at school, in housing, employment, in health care, in our faith congregations, in retirement and in basic human rights.”

The new more inclusive name adds bisexual, transgender and queer to lesbian and gay in the form of LGBTQ. The new tagline “Be You” speaks to the desire for freedom to be yourself in a just society — and also points to the remaining barriers that still exist for LGBTQ people and their families in experiencing real freedom. The evolved brand, with a new logo, color palette and website is designed to put forth the organization’s values, mission and strategic direction.

“Now more than ever we have the power to define the future we want &mash; a world where every LGBTQ person can be themselves without any barriers. We have worked hard for decades to create this momentum. Let’s seize this opportunity, let’s be ourselves fully, and let’s make a future together that’s worthy of our struggle,” stressed Carey.

Note to editors: The National LGBTQ Task Force’s historic change comes in the week that the Supreme Court extended marriage equality to more states and the nation gets ready to celebrate National Coming Out Day this weekend.

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